You can tow under 3500kgs combined maximum weight so check your car and caravan weights before shelling out,
OH did her B & E and it cost us about £600 all in but that was with 3 days worth of training before hand including the test.
Although she is a proffessional driver for a living (bus and coach driver) she said it was great to have the 3 days to make sure she was super confident in doing it and she passed first time with 1 minor (Doing 32 as she went past a 30MPH sign) as just didn;t slow down enough so she was gutted about that!
I certainly would reocmmend some training as depite how good a driver you think you are you really don't want to keep paying out for tests if you fail on something silly,
Firstly though check yoru car and caravan weights you may not have to do it at all yet depending on what you own.
------------- Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
some interesting reading found from another caravan website
Caravanning Now - What weight caravan can I tow?
In theory up to the maximum permitted in your handbook, which might be 200% of the unladen weight of your vehicle!
In practice however, it depends upon your experience and confidence.
There are two factors that restrict your towing weight.
The vehicle manufacturers specify a towing limit for the vehicle which you may not exceed (for example 1800kg).
The vehicle manufacturers also specify the maximum gross train weight of the vehicle again which may not be exceeded (for example 3600kg).
Therefore, using the examples above, so long as your car and caravan, in total, weighs less than 3600kg, of which, no more than 1800kg is the caravan then with a licence first issued before 1st January, 1997 or if you have passed a supplementary towing test, then you can legitimately drive the combination at 60mph on the motorway.
For someone whose licence was first awarded after 01/01/97 the regulations are different in that they are not allowed to tow a vehicle that weighs more than the kerbweight of their car without taking a further test[See 1 below].
[1] All drivers who passed a car test before 1 January 1997[2] retain their existing entitlement to tow trailers until their licence expires. This means they are generally entitled to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8.25 tonnes maximum authorised mass (MAM) without passing any special driving test.
Since 1 January 1997 all drivers who hold category C or D entitlement have been limited to trailers up to 750kgs MAM; Category C+E or D+E must be held in order to tow trailers in excess of this.
I.E. new drivers for the last * years have to do an additional test in order to tow anything over 750kgs. Many of these are coming up to an age where they might be thinking about getting a caravan.
[2] If you have a medical condition that restricts your licence to a limited short term period (i.e. Diabetes Mellitus controlled by insulin), you may need an additional medical certificate to retain your C+E or D+E rights. This may be charged for by your doctor.
What the government says:
Here are the links to the government web site relating to towing weights:
Caravanning Now have got it wrong in part and have made a classic misinterpretations regarding category B licences obtained after 1996:
Such drivers are not limited to trailers up to 750kg. They can also tow any trailer provided that
The MTPLM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle; and
The MAM of the combination does not exceed 3,500 kg.
In practice, a post-1996 category B licence entitles you to drive many combinations of family cars and caravans with MTPLM of up to 1,200 kg or so. For example, my old Volvo 850 (unladen weight circa 1250 kg) with my old Jubilee Ambassador (MTPLM 1150 kg) could be legally driven on a post 1996 category B.
As far as I can tell, the myth that holders of post-1996 category B licences can only tow 750 kg has put several people from caravanning and prompted others to spend a significant sum on lessons and a test that were not strictly required for the outfit they planned to use.
Note also that the holder of a post-1996 category B licence can legally tow any trailer with MTPLM up to 750 kg even if that's heavier than the unladen weight of the towcar or the MAM of the combination is over 3,500 kg. However, the trailer must be braked if its MTPLM is more than half the kerbweight of the towing vehicle.
This is an easy to read pdf from ivor williams trailers showing new driver trailer alowances and restrictions it also has on page 2 some questions and answers.
Quote: Originally posted by gazmister123 on 30/7/2009
Hi Steve,
You can tow under 3500kgs combined maximum weight so check your car and caravan weights before shelling out,
OH did her B & E and it cost us about £600 all in but that was with 3 days worth of training before hand including the test.
Although she is a proffessional driver for a living (bus and coach driver) she said it was great to have the 3 days to make sure she was super confident in doing it and she passed first time with 1 minor (Doing 32 as she went past a 30MPH sign) as just didn;t slow down enough so she was gutted about that!
I certainly would reocmmend some training as depite how good a driver you think you are you really don't want to keep paying out for tests if you fail on something silly,
Firstly though check yoru car and caravan weights you may not have to do it at all yet depending on what you own.
Chees for that, and also others that replied.
Ive got a 91 Swift Challenger 490/5L, was recently left it in a will, som really new to this.
According to the hand book, the caravan's max laden weight is 1150kg, but i don't actually have a proper car yet, my current 1.6 astra struggled, im looking as we speak, so i can't work out the full weight.
I shouold imagine as long as you don't get a big big car with a gross vehicle weight (not kerbweight) of less than 2350kgs (3500-1150 for your caravan) then you should be fine. I would chose carefully when looking you may not have to do the B & E Test at all then.
Good luck and don't be afraid to ask any questions the people on here are great and really helpful,. OH only had to do it when we sold our second caravan and bought a heavier one as we had to buy a bigger car to tow it,
------------- Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
So you require a car with a gross vehicle weight not exceeding 2350 kg then. Note gross vehicle weight, NOT kerbweight. The gross vehicle weight is the maximum permitted weight of the vehicle including the vehicle itself and all occupants, luggage etc.
A typical hatchback type vehicle will have a kerbweight of around 1400 kg and a luggage/person weight of a further 500 kg - 600 kg giving a GVW of around 1900 kg to 2000 kg so as you can see, apart from perhaps an older X Trail or CRV/RAV4 type 4 X 4 your licence will preclude you from entering 4 X 4 territory. Do make sure you check the weights thoroughly before buying.
Steve, you don't need to take a B+E to tow that caravan if you choose the right car. Your caravan's MTPLM is the same as my old Ambassador - and that was completely legal for post-1996 category B behind a Volvo 850 2.5 SE and the 140 bhp of that car was more than adequate.
Unfortunately, I suspect that most 4x4s have too large a maximum gross weight to comply with the "MAM of the combination" restriction. So, like most "new" drivers, you are denied the benefit of the safest, most capable towcars available. However, with a caravan as light as yours you have a vast choice of towcar without needing to take the B-plus-E test.
With an MTPLM of 1150 kg, the MAM of the car can be anything up to 2350 kg without exceeding the 3500 kg limit for the "MAM of the combination". The (Insignia Executive 160 bph has a MAM of 2145 kg and so would fit the bill, as would many other Insignias and the earlier Vectras. Also, most Ford Mondeos would be fine.
An 85% match for your caravan requires a kerbweight of 1350 kg. So, ideally, you need a towcar that's at least that heavy.
BTW, your Astra is probably too light for you to legally tow your caravan. Here's the specs for a 1.6 5-door that gives the kerbweight of 1195 kg. However, Kerbweight includes an allowance for the driver, some luggage, and sundries and is usually greater than the unladen weight by 100 kg or more. So the unladen weight of that Astra would be 1095 kg or less, which is more than 50 kg too light.
The Mazda would be fine. Most 2 litre cars would be able to cope with your van. Mondeos are popular towcars. You don't really need a 4 wheel drive. I suspect that the Santa Fe would be beyond your limits.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
I'd go for the Mazda, we are on our second (although mine is not the towcar) and both have been brilliant cars. we used to tow our older caravan with OH's but had to sell it when we upgraded as needed something bigger. , When I needed to replace my car though it was first on my list. I love them and when my premacy dies I quite fancy a Mazda 5, We use mine for camping (pic in gallery) and my daily car but its not heavy enough to tow our caravan and wouldn't hesitate in recommending mazda to anyone.
Post last edited on 03/08/2009 14:46:05
------------- Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
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Topic: Taking the B&E test
